David Weitz, Principal Investigator

Soft, yet biocompatible, elastomers mimicking the stiffness of human tissues and cells are in great need for reconstructive surgeries and tissue engineering. However, traditional elastomers are limited in their softness, since they are made of linear polymers, whose modulus is contributed from crosslinks and trapped entanglements. The lab of Professor David Weitz has developed a one-step process to fabricate soft, biocompatible PDMS elastomers by crosslinking brush-like polymers. The special brush-like architecture prevents the formation of entanglements, resulting in elastomers with precisely controllable low moduli of physiologically-relevant stiffness, up to two orders of magnitude smaller than the lower limit of traditional elastomers formed by crosslinking linear polymers. The unique features of these elastomers – softness, biocompatibility, solvent-free preparation, and low cost of the raw inputs (PDMS) – hold great promise for biomedical applications.

Supressor Gene Therapy Technology

David Knipe, Principal Investigator

A method for improving expression of nucleic acid of interest and/or the efficiency of gene expression that is compatible with existing approaches for gene therapy or gene transfection. The method can enable more targeted and efficient in vivo or ex vivo gene therapy, as well as enable more efficient production and purification of proteins for clinical use and for the study of infectious diseases, vascular diseases, and other disorders.

Filtration technology, combining the advantages of filtration and electrochemical oxidation

Chad Vecitis, Principal Investigator

Filtration technology for water purification, based on an electrochemically-active carbon nanotube filter. Initially intended for wastewater treatment and water purification. This approach combines the advantages of filtration and electrochemical oxidation into a single device, providing significant advantages over conventional approaches. Near-term applications include industrial wastewater treatment and water purification in hospitals and labs. Longer term, the technology could be applied to higher-volume, municipal wastewater, purification of drinking water treatment or Third World water safety.

Allesandra Ferzoco, Principal Investigator

Mass spectrometers represent a $4 billion equipment market, but have limited functionality, due to the requirement for vacuum operation. Low yield due to inlet losses has precluded the use of mass spectrometry as a preparative tool for chemical processes. This invention is a liquid-phase, quadrupole filter, capable of discriminating particles down to 1 micron in a continuous flow field and potentially paving the way for preparative mass spectrometry in the solution phase. It enables a wide array of applications related to synthetic chemistry and drug delivery.

Azad Bonni, Principal Investigator

A new drug target encompassing an enzyme that promotes degradation of FMRP, a protein that triggers exaggeration of Long Term Depression (LTD), deregulates synaptic plasticity and is a key component in developmental cognitive disorders.